Native Americans In Kentucky Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Native Americans In Kentucky - Research Paper Example Once the land was regarded as free land, it became a free resource for the new settlers who went ahead to divide the land among them. The arrival of settlers ushered in individual land ownership for settlers and the removal of native tribes from their ancestral land. In contrast, Native Americans had an entirely different approach to land ownership, as the land was viewed as communal land held in trust. They had no concept of individual land ownership; however, there was the concept of tribal territories. Tribes living on specific land had no problem accommodating other tribes, as long as the new tribes lived in peace and harmony with them.This concept was important to the native tribes as it held the tribes together and fostered communal responsibility towards everything that appertained to life. The history, traditions, cultures, and norms of the tribe were held in trust by the elders. Each native tribe had its own unique traditions, culture, practices, and norms that had been shap ed by their individual experiences as a community. Banning the native tribes together and relocating them threw them into a cultural melting pot that did not afford the natives time to blend. TheIroquois Indians named the region where the present state of Kentucky â€Å"Kentake† or â€Å"meadow land†. This meadowland region was the home of four different Native American tribes. The native tribes had their own cultures and traditions that were unique to each tribe despite their shared similarity in dialects.

Critical thinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Critical thinking - Essay Example Though, theories and methods are proven or disputed, still due to the critical thinking these conclusions are not final and they are always exposed to comments and criticism. Thanks to critical thinking knowledge is added to all fields allowing for the perpetual evolution of disciplines. Critical thinking and critical approach contribute for the desirable skills that all students aim to - to be able to assess decisively situations. Universities insist on critical thinking because it develops and evolves intelligence and associative thinking. Critical thinking has been interpreted and measured in numberless ways. According to Pascarella and Terenzini (1991) critical thinking "typically involves the individual's ability to do some or all of the following: identify central issues, make correct inferences from data, deduce conclusions from the information or data provided, interpret whether conclusions are warranted on the basis of the data given, and evaluate evidence or authority" (p. 118). They note that the impact of the activated critical thinking is evidenced in postsecondary education. The imperative that students have to concentrate and develop their critical thinking in their postsecondary education identifies the need for scholars to accent on other aspects of thinking while at university. Very often students receive feedbacks on... zing, synthesizing and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generalized by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning or communication, as a guide to belief and action (1)." For them critical thinking is a process and not an end. Paul and Elder (2002) emphasize that there are 9 qualities that transform the language into an optimal use: clarity, precision, depth, accuracy, relevance, significance, logic, breadth and fairness. Usually students who master the critical thinking technique will be able to: Search patterns and underlying rules; Connect ideas to previous knowledge and examine and compare theories and real life experience; Verify and substantiate evidence and relate it to the conclusions; Explore the arguments for and against and ask critical questions and made assumptions; Recognize alternative viewpoints and being able to built counterarguments; Generalizing main concepts and seeking clarifications to build sustainable knowledge; At university level critical thinking is essential for combining discussion with peer-editing activities and to stimulate the collaboration between pupils. An example of encouraging critical thinking at university is establishing "buzz groups" within the class and each groups will discuss a certain aspect of the topic and the other will try to build counter-arguments and critique the conclusions. A research conducted by Johnson et al (1991) shows that "buzz group" discussions following the guidelines of covering main concepts and then critically evaluating if a counter-argument can be built helps students to develop problem-solving skills and to enhance their independent thinking. In "buzz group" discussions learners are able to formulate problems and to be involved in the process of exploratory learning. This is so,